To profit from a public service: Greener Way
Greener Way Greener Way, a company established twenty months ago as a private waste management firm is looking to build and operate a material recovery facility that will segregate waste, add value to it and export it for recycling.
The Thimphu city corporation has agreed to lease out an acre of land near the Changzamtog truck parking area, where the facility will be built.
Chief executive of Greener Way, Karma Yonten, said the facility would have a waste-unloading yard, where trucks will unload waste. It will then be compressed, processed and sent for recycling. The firm will also provide pick up service from home.
Today, the firm is seeking support from financial institutions to build the facility. While the cost has not been determined, Karma Yonten said the firm would present its business plans to the heads of financial institutions this week. The Druk Holding and Investments is facilitating the meeting between heads of financial institutions and Greener Way.
Karma Yonten said, of the 51 tonnes of waste Thimphu city generates each day, around 47 percent is recyclable. “Greener Way will buy that 47 percent, and dispose of it in a professional manner,” he said. “We intend to reduce the amount of waste taken for disposal to the Memelakha landfill, which is already overflowing.”
People will be provided financial incentives, if they bring waste to the recovery centre, instead of making use of the municipality vehicles, which takes the waste to the Memelakha landfill, he added.
He also said that, if the situation at Memelakha landfill is not taken care of, it could cause serious health and environmental hazards in the future.
So far, the company has been collecting recyclable waste from government offices and schools, and sending them as raw materials to recycling factories in India.
During its twenty months of operation, it has disposed of 365 tonnes of waste professionally, which would otherwise end up in Memelakha landfill, according to Karma Yonten. In its first month, it collected seven tonnes of waste.
Asked about the company’s performance and profitability, Karma Yonten said the firm has just been able to sustain itself and move forward.
Source: kuenselonline